Sessions
Oconomowoc Watershed Protection Program and Tall Pines Conservancy: A Partnership to Protect and Improve Soil and Water Quality in the Oconomowoc River Watershed
2:35 PM - 3:15 PM Thu
Darrell Smith is the Watershed Program Manager for the City of Oconomowoc’s Watershed Protection Program. Darrell guides the City’s Adaptive Management program to reach compliance with water quality standards in the Oconomowoc River. The program, started in 2015, focuses on non-point land-based phosphorous reduction strategies. Darrell also helps to coordinate the Farmers for Lake Country Producer-Led Group, which fosters peer to peer learning in conservation farming strategies to improve soil health and preserve water quality. Darrell may be seen scouting a drainage pathway of water across a field, loading a helicopter hopper with cover crop seed, or pouring over a map to design a future project. Prior to his work in the watershed, Darrell worked for Purple Cow Organics, a company based in southern Wisconsin that provides organic compost and soil amendments for farmers and retail markets. Darrell owned a Milwaukee-based natural landscape company for ten years, with an emphasis on native plantings and soil restoration.